Bayer Leverkusen also won their second Europa League match. Against Celtic Glasgow, a bad stumble by the opponent helped the Werkself onto the winning road in a fast-paced match.
Leverkusen coach Gerardo Seoane had announced a “rumble in the jungle” for the first ten minutes at Celtic Park – and indeed it was all over from the start. The Werkself, with Alario, Paulinho and Hincapie replacing Schick, Bellarabi and Kossounou after the 1-0 win against Mainz, put Celtic under pressure early on and scored the first goal in the first minute. Alario’s tap-in goal, however, was disallowed for offside, and rightly so.
Monster tackle by Tah
There are always two parties to a good “rumble” and Celtic also took part in the lively exchange of blows. Furuhashi almost took advantage of a sloppy back pass by Aranguiz, but Tah straddled the ball just in time (2.).
The game continued to go back and forth, both teams quickly bridged the midfield and had an immense drive towards the goal. However, the home side had the best chances, but Hradecky saved twice. First, the Bayer captain’s foot came out against the through-breaking Furuhashi (19th), then his arm against Starfelt’s turning shot (22nd).
Turnbull’s fatal stumble
Raised by the big chances, Leverkusen now did more again, but needed a bad stumble by Turnbull to take the lead. Bakker got the ball through the lapse and crossed to Hincapie, who scored his first goal in a Bayer shirt (25th).
Celtic had to collect themselves after conceding the goal and kept revealing gaps in their backward movement, which were mercilessly exposed by Demirbay’s passing accuracy to Paulinho. At the second post, Wirtz tapped in to score his sixth goal in six consecutive games (35th).
Celtic come out of the dressing room well
After the break, Celtic came out of the dressing room with a lot of pace, but Bayer had a very good Hradecky in goal. The captain made a number of fine saves, first from Furuhashi’s turning shot (46th) and then also from Jota’s long-range shot (51st).
The penalty to decide the game
Bayer, on the other hand, were more passive at first in the second half and did not make their presence felt offensively, but were then awarded a penalty on their first successful attacking move after Carter-Vickers blocked Paulinho’s shot with his arm. Alario stepped up and converted safely to make it 3-0 (58th).
Adli scores the final goal
With the 3:0 Bayer Celtic’s offensive efforts pulled the plug. Even though the Scots continued to run, it was no longer really dangerous for Hradecky. Bayer did not take any risks either, except for Alario’s good chance to shoot (68th). In the last action of the game, substitute Adli scored the final goal with a powerful finish. The Werkself thus won their second Europa League match and moved to the top of Group G.
Next Saturday, Celtic, who remain without a point in the Europa League, host Aberdeen in the league (4pm). Leverkusen host Bielefeld next Sunday (19.30).
